Graureiher vs Marmorierte Kreuzspinne

Ardea cinerea compared with Araneus marmoreus

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Graureiher	Marmorierte Kreuzspinne
Kingdom same	Animalia (Tier)	Animalia (Tier)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordatiere)	Arthropoda (Gliederfüßer)
Class	Aves (Vögel)	Arachnida (Spinnentiere)
Order	Pelecaniformes (Pelecaniformes)	Araneae (Webspinnen)
Family	Ardeidae	Araneidae
Genus	Ardea	Araneus
Species	Ardea cinerea	Araneus marmoreus

Evolutionary Relationship

Graureiher and Marmorierte Kreuzspinne share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (Tier)

Conservation Status

Graureiher

LC — Least Concern

Trend: Stable →

Marmorierte Kreuzspinne

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Graureiher	Marmorierte Kreuzspinne
Diet	Carnivore	—
Average Lifespan	15 years	—
Average Length	95 cm	—
Average Weight	1.5 kg	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Graureiher

Habitat

Typically found in diverse ecosystems where prey species are available.

Range

Found across Europe (6 countries).

Marmorierte Kreuzspinne

Habitat

Typically found in terrestrial habitats from forests to deserts.

Range

Found across Europe (4 countries) and North America (Canada, United States).

Graureiher

A large, elegant wading bird reaching up to 1 meter in height, gray herons inhabit wetlands, rivers, lakes, and coastal areas across Europe, Asia, and Africa. Patient, solitary hunters, they stand motionless for long periods before striking fish, frogs, and small mammals with lightning-fast dagger bill strikes. They nest colonially in tall trees in rookeries called heronries, sometimes shared with other colonial waterbirds. Widely distributed and of Least Concern globally.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 4 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden